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Sano to have sore right elbow examined

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Top Prospects: Sano, MIN 0:51

2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Miguel Sano has hit 63 home runs and drove in over 200 runs in his first two seasons of pro ball

By Rhett Bollinger
/
MLB.com |

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Miguel Sano, who is ranked the Twins' No. 2 prospect, was slated to have his right elbow examined by team doctors Friday afternoon after tweaking it while making a throw in Thursday's intrasquad game.

Sano, who was diagnosed with a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow this offseason while playing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic, was cleared to throw heading into camp. The third baseman didn't have any issues until Thursday, when he had to make a throw across his body on a slow grounder hit by catcher Kurt Suzuki.

The Twins remain hopeful the injury isn't serious, but they won't know more until Sano gets his elbow examined on Friday.

"He made that throw coming in off-balance, and he had a little bit of soreness and will get it checked out this afternoon," assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "When he came into the dugout, they asked him, because that was one of the throws we were going to keep an eye on. You can do it in workouts all you want, but until you get into game action and react and make a play. They asked him how it felt, and he said, 'I felt it a little bit on that one.' So they took him out of the game and he came in today was still a little sore."

Sano, ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect by MLB.com, was originally on the list to travel for the Grapefruit League opener against the Red Sox, but he was scratched because of the injury. Antony said the Twins hoped Sano's elbow issue wouldn't flare up this spring, but now that it has, they're doing their due diligence to get it checked out.

"It's not anything that's a complete utter shock," Antony said. "But unfortunately he felt a little something and we have to check it out and see where it's at. They'll take a look at it and see how it is, and we might have to make a decision sooner or later."